


Found Family

by Winter Hat (Fedora)



Series: Monster Babies [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Children, First Meetings, Gen, child avatars of eldritch fear gods, clueless adults, creepy children, petulant teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 08:36:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20485973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fedora/pseuds/Winter%20Hat
Summary: Jurgen Leitner is interested in the avatars of mysterious powers... and children are easier to control.  Elias, age 14, only pretends to be easy to control.  Jon, age 3, only wants stories.





	Found Family

Elias had lots of practice playing the petulant teenager. Granted the last time had been nearly a year ago and he’d been pretty high, but, like back then, he had the hope that if he made this experience as miserable for everyone else as it was for him, he wouldn’t have to do this again. While it was nice to leave the Institute for a couple days, any additional time spent with Jurgen Leitner was too much. While another “student” would take some of the focus away from himself, Elias wouldn’t even wish Michael Shelly to have to deal with Leitner and his obsession with supernatural powers.

Before she had left mid year, Ms Robinson had lectured on honesty to oneself, so Elias tried hard to admit, in his own head at least, that Leitner was not the architect of all his trouble. The man was just a complete bastard who took advantage of any misfortune. 

“Elias,” Leitner intoned. The car stopped in front of an older, but well kept house at the edge of Bournmuth. They hadn’t stopped at the beach, and Elias didn’t think they would. “Look at me. It seems unlikely that this visit will grant us a new resident to our Institute, but Dr Praxton specifically requested I look into this and his goodwill would be beneficial.”

Elias continued to stare out the window at the house, keeping only a sliver of attention on Leitner.

“You will be a good example of the kind of young man the Institute can produce.”

“I am the only example of the kind of young man the Institute can produce.”

“For now.” Leitner grinned, Elias found it more menacing than Leitner intended, and swept out for the car and toward the door. Elias scowled deeper then cleared his expression and followed. He didn’t Know what would happen if he disobeyed, but he was pretty sure it would be a bad idea.

The woman who answered the door was older than Ms Robinson; her hair was completely white and her face deeply lined. She tried to smile at them as they entered, but she seemed to naturally have a stern expression.

Elias paid enough attention to the adults to deliver the perfect “good afternoon, Mrs Sims” and “thank you for the tea, ma’am,” but his input wasn’t needed. He was there to make Leitner look less like a creep who kidnapped children. Leitner and Mrs Sims were talking pleasantries around the issue. Mrs Sims had been granted guardianship of her three year old grandson four months ago, after his mother’s death, and she was scared of him.

Far more interesting were the pictures on the walls (it seems she was the paternal grandmother) and a vague sense of familiarity about the house. The tea set did remind Elias of his own grandparents, but that wasn’t quite right. At the earliest opportunity he excused himself to the washroom, ignoring the threat in Leitner’s glare. 

Elias walked past the washroom to follow the sense of familiarity. It reminded him of home, but not his parents. More like school. In the back of the house was a bright guest room with several large open windows. A small boy sat in the center of the room on a braided rug with a coloring book and crayons spread around him.

The boy looked up as he entered, and Elias froze. “Who are you?”

“Jonathan,” the boy continued to stare up at him.

“Do you have a question for me?”

“Grandmother says I need to stop asking questions.”

Elias clenched his teeth and swallowed his anger; he had practice with Leitner.

“You can ask me any question you like, as many as you like.”

The boy lit up. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

“Elias Bouchard. Leitner wanted me to make his school seem more legitimate.” He answered without thought, like when Ms Robinson would ask the name of the class troublemaker. So that was what felt so familiar about the house. “How did you do that?”

Jonathan shrugged, “I copied the lady.”

Pulling information from another person wasn’t something Elias was good at; he was better at Watching current events or Showing what he knew to other people, but sometimes there were loopholes. He sat down on the floor beside Jonathan. “Could you show me?”

Jonathan nodded furiously.

And Elias found himself in a hospital waiting room, with doctors and nurses running past him and Jonathan standing on a chair.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?” Jonathan was alone, and no one stopped to answer.

Elias registered the phrases “losing her” and “try something else” and a loud electronic wail from the room near the chairs.

Afraid and frustrated, Jonathan left the waiting area. He tried to ask any adult he came across what was happening, but they took no notice of him.

He came to a set of large double doors, beyond which the lights were much dimmer and where there were fewer people. Elias Felt that the dark scared Jonathan, but that he hoped since it was less busy someone would talk to him. In a room full of drawers - a morgue - a woman stood over a body on a table. Elias recognised her as Ms Robinson; finally someone who could sort out the situation.

“What’s going on?”

Ms Robinson turned; it took her a moment to look down to the child. “What are you doing here?” The question had a thread of compulsion. 

“I want to know what’s happening!”

She smiled, not unkindly, but like when the headmaster would talk to her when she was trying to teach class. “Who is supposed to be watching you?”

“Mama! I want to know what happened to Mama! What happened?” Jonathan screamed. “I want to know!”

Ms Robinson looked shocked at the outburst, then quickly ran out a side door. Before Jonathan could decide what to do next, he was lifted from behind.

And Elias found himself back in the sunlit guestroom, with Jonathan staring at him. The child hadn’t blinked.

“Will you read me a story?”

“Of course,” Jonathan pulled a book off the shelf, a very old copy of  _ Now We Are Six _ , and after a moment’s hesitation snuggled against Elias on his lap.

  
Leitner and Mrs Sims found them later. Elias didn’t look up from the book he was reading, and Jonathan didn’t pause in his questions.

“Jonathan! We talked about this!”

Jonathan stopped talking mid sentence. Elias interrupted before Mrs Sims could say anything else, he tried for a tone that was both respectful and sincere. “He’s been delightful.” Petulant was so much easier to achieve.

The woman frowned, but Jonathan smiled up at him and Elias couldn’t help but smile back. There was an ease to interacting with someone who was like him that caused something inside to relax.

“It’s time for us to be going,” Leitner did not look pleased, and ignored Elias as they walked out. Jonathan insisted on holding his hand to the door and then insisted on a hug goodbye. Mrs Sims looked about as happy as Leitner at that.

“I hope you have a good reason for disappearing,“ Leitner snapped once they were in the car and driving down the road. “That woman is going to be reporting back to Dr Praxton about our visit and I wanted to be sure to leave a good impression.”

Elias stared out the window; they were not heading anywhere near the beach, and each mile took them farther away from the Sims household. He Knew that Jonathan was the Archivist, and he Knew that was important. He was also sure that Leitner shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near anything important. But he couldn’t leave the small Archivist alone.

“Jonathan is like Ms Robinson.”

Leitner visibly startled, his mouth snapping shut before another tirade began. “Gertrude led me to believe her powers were unique.”

Elias shrugged. “I don’t know. I know what Ms Robinson was like. What it felt like around her. And Jonathan felt like that.”

“I see,” Leitner rapped his fingers against his thigh, a smile growing across his face. “I’ll have to let Mrs Sims know that we do have room for such a young student.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to J Quadrfrions for encouragement and telling me other people would also enjoy this. And to Cruelest Month for also enjoying it.


End file.
